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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — a subject
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. field — farmland
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stock — goods
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — for paper
  13. field — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. clip — a video
  19. saw — the tool
  20. branch — a division
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com